The Reincarnator's Inauspicious Route to Finding Love-Chapter 56: What?! (2)

The carriage soon came to a stop in front of the gates at the Academy. Lianna and Nathaniel showed the guards their identification cards as did the driver.

When the carriage came to a stop in front of the drop-off zone to let them out, Nathaniel hopped off first so that he could offer his hand to Lianna.

He loved the smile that she wore as she graciously took his hand. "Shall I walk you to your class?" He wanted nothing more than to spend just a few extra moments with her.

"You don’t even need to ask," was her cheeky reply as she wrapped her arm in his.

The morning air was a bit chilly and a light breeze rustled the turning leaves. The flowers, which were still surprisingly in bloom, added a sweet scent upon the passing breeze.

Nathaniel and Lianna made their way to the main building. The students passing by were all animated as they excitedly whispered amongst themselves.

"Why does it feel as if there are more eyes on me than usual?" Nathaniel, who was used to people staring at him, felt as if his fellow peers had returned to how they were during his first year in attendance. It felt as if they were watching him to gauge his reaction–although he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be reacting to.

"They must be trying to figure out how much you know about the current situation!" Lianna’s voice was light and bell-like as laughter was hidden in its undertones.

His golden gaze narrowed with light-hearted suspicion. "This has something to do with the latest gossip you teased me with earlier," he surmised, loving the way Lianna’s head tilted down as she tried to stifle her laughter.

"It does."

The two of them entered the main Lecture Hall and was instantly embraced by warmth. At times like these, he would find himself feeling a bit bitter about not being able to use the fire element that was known to be passed down through the royal family. But just because he felt bitter about it did not mean that he would trade his ability to use Aura for the ability to use Mana. Aura was the livelihood that he had desperately worked toward and was proud to have become a swordmaster at such a young age.

Nathaniel walked Lianna to her classroom. "I’ll see you in a bit." He resisted the urge to kiss her on the cheek, knowing that she would not like that.

After the two of them bid their farewells, Nathaniel left down the hall, heading for his own class on the opposite side of the building. The throng of students became even worse as more showed up. Even with the crowd rapidly growing, Nathaniel was still able to easily navigate his way through the halls thanks to his peers making room for him.

Nathaniel had just reached the wing where his class was being held when a familiar head of blonde hair caught his eye. His second brother stood above all the rest with his impressive height which made it easy to locate him in crowded spaces.

Nathaniel was making his way to his brother since he had not met with him all week. He still could not fathom as to why Mikyle had suddenly decided to move into the dorms, which made it harder for everyone in the family to see him.

Mikyle’s form grew closer with each step. Nathaniel sported a smile and was in the midst of raising his hand in gesture when his feet smacked into each other and he almost tumbled face first into the floor.

Holding onto his brother’s hand as a lover would was the boy Nathaniel recognized as Count Mallorne’s youngest. Mikyle, someone who had never before shown interest in anyone, wore an infatuated smile as he peered down at the youngest Mallorne in rapt attention.

When did my brother start dating?! Was this why he was so insistent on moving into the dorms?! Why hasn’t he told anyone in the family yet?! Wait! Lia knew about this and didn’t tell me?!

He wasn’t sure if he was more shocked over the fact that his second brother had finally found someone, or if it was because he felt betrayed by the love of his life who had not told him of this joyous news.

. . . .

Mikyle held Adrien’s hand in his. Adrien’s hand was smaller than his and the skin was smooth and unblemished. He felt like if he held on too tightly, he would hurt him, but if he didn’t hold on tightly enough, Adrien would slip through his grasp.

It was a new emotion that puzzled him to no end. He had no reason or justification to feel that way, but for some odd reason that could not be explained, he found himself feeling exactly that way. It felt almost as if he had lost his hold on that hand before.

It was a feeling that had come to him after he had realized that he could have a mate just like the Ancient dragons and that his mate was Adrien. And it was just one more thing added to the list of things he needed to look further into. It was possible that it was a side-effect of having a mate, but for some reason, this emotion–no, this fear felt like it ran deeper than that and Mikyle could not shake the feeling that he had lost Adrien once before.

Through the crowd, Mikyle spotted a familiar head of red hair. Nathaniel was staring at their interlocked hands through the crowd. His golden-yellow eyes were wide and his eyebrows were raised, betraying his outwardly calm demeanor.

Mikyle released a sigh. If he didn’t explain everything to his brother right now, he had a sinking feeling that things would be blown out of proportion before the day could even come to an end.

"Kitten," Mikyle called softly. Adrien looked up at him. "I’ll meet you in class in a minute. There’s someone here that I need to have a quick word with."

Adrien looked around the hallway, his eyes landing on Nathaniel. "I’ll see you there."

Mikyle gave Adrien’s hand a light squeeze before he reluctantly let go. His heart sank with the absence and Mikyle was struck with a phantom fear at the loss of Adrien’s hand.

Is this really a side-effect of the dragon’s bond? Or did I somehow lose Adrien’s once before in a past life?

It wasn’t as if Mikyle truly believed in past lives, but it was something that he couldn’t absolutely refute either. Not with the way in how the Queen Regent was so knowledgeable far beyond her years that went beyond what one could gain from books and teachings, or with how other Kingdoms had religious beliefs that centered around reincarnation and the cycle of life. But even if there was such a thing as reincarnation, it would be too strange to believe that he would have had a similar relationship with Adrien’s past self as he had with him during the present. So where did this lingering fear come from?

Mikyle made his way to Nathaniel, the throng of people quickly parting to make way for the two princes. "Well?" He asked with a smirk poised on his lips as he stared at his older brother who stood in stunned silence. At the same time, he surged his Mana out and connected it to Adrien’s Mana, keeping a watchful eye on him as he moved steadily closer to their shared class.

"Is he the reason you moved into the dorms?" Nathaniel asked after regaining his composer.

"He is," Mikyle answered in the affirmative. The two of them had moved closer to the wall to give room to the passersby. Mikyle leaned against the wall, uncaring of how he looked, and crossed his arms in an attempt to stop his burning hand from itching from the loss of Adrien’s hand, which he could still plainly feel.

"When? If I’m not mistaken, didn’t the two of you just meet? And why haven’t you told anyone this wonderful news?"

"I’ll explain more later since classes are to begin shortly, but yes, we met for the first time at the start of term."

"You better keep your word and explain. And Kyle, you should introduce him to us."

Mikyle found his shoulders stiffening at Nathaniel’s words. He was still afraid that his overly enthusiastic family could wind up scaring Adrien into running away.

"Bring him over this weekend."

Mikyle was getting ready to refuse when his brother’s following words had him pausing in his attempt at a polite refusal.

"The two of you can stay the night in your palace that way we can all have breakfast together."

Hmm? He might actually be onto something there.

Mikyle could help the images that came vividly to the forefront of his mind. Images of Adrien lying on top of his bed, beckoning him with that adorably shy smile. Of Adrien lying face down against the tiles that lined the bath, his face flushed red from the heat of the water and from pleasure. There were even images of Adrien clinging onto his desk in the study with his legs spread apart, ready for Mikyle to take him.

Mikyle found himself groaning, wishing for the weekend to come already. "Fine. I’ll ask him."

"Good."